A Music-related blog containing information and commentary of my favorite music, as well as some choice downloads of quality, hard-to-find music (unofficial releases, ROIO's, concert bootlegs, etc.) available on the web.

OK, here's one especially for all the Gene Clark fans out there, and another in our series of previously uncirculated audience recordings from David M. This one is a rousing Gene Clark performance with The Firebyrds from his 1984 tour, featuring a great cross-section of songs from throughout his career, as well as some choice covers (including two very different versions of Beatles songs). This show is a personal favorite of David's, and Gene is his favorite artist. Gene starts the show with 3 songs done solo acoustic, then brings out the band for the bulk of the set. Included here is also an apparent rarity: he performs a countrified version of the Beatles 'I'll Cry Instead', after which he says that it was the first time he ever performed that song, and I have not seen it listed in the setlists of other shows from this tour, or other later Gene Clark shows. This is a decent quality recording; not great, but not bad, and is probably the only recording in existence from this show. So, once again, we owe our thanks to David M for preserving these remarkable moments in music and time that can never be repeated, for us all to hear and enjoy all these years later. Once again, I have done some minor editing, re-tracking, and adjustments to help improve the sound and presentation, but for the most part, this is the whole show just as it was performed back in 1984. So, presented here for the first time on the BB Chronicles, the remarkable and irreplaceable talent of Gene Clark.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Here' s another previously uncirculated Flying Burrito Brothers show from David M from their 1971 tour, just 2 days before the Boston show previously posted (8/1/71-Boston Commons). Unfortunately, this is not a very good recording, as it suffers from from an annoying and persistent high-volume distortion throughout the show (in all but the quietest parts, such as the bluegrass section), that renders it quite difficult to listen to (David told me that he was right next to Chris's bass speakers, and the high volume was more than his recorder could handle. I was able to tone down the bass using EQ, but could not do anything about the overriding distortion present). This one is for dedicated fans and completists only. Because of the poor quality of the recording, I went back and forth on whether I should post this at all, especially since we already have the Boston show from this period. However, despite the problems with the recording, this is an excellent show, and almost half the songs in the set are different from those in the 8/1 show. So, I decided to go ahead and post it so that it will be available to all those that are interested in it. The pictures included on the cover art are actually from this show, and were also provided by David M. As indicated previously, these shows represented the last performances by this classic lineup for the band, as Bernie Leadon left just a couple weeks later (to join the Eagles), followed by Chris Hillman shortly after that (to join Stephen Stills in Manassas). So, despite the very real recording limitations, there are many interesting highlights here, and this is a worthwhile addition to the Flying Burrito Brothers legacy for dedicated fans.

tracklist:
1. Devil in Disguise
2. Close Up The Honky Tonks
3. Do Right Woman
4. White Line Fever
5. Bluegrass Breakdown
6. Why Are You Crying?
7. Shenandoah Valley Breakdown
8. Pay Day
9. Wild Horses
10. Sing Me Back Home
11. Tried So Hard
12. Ain’t That A Lot Of Love
13. Hot Burrito #2
14. Six Days On The Road
15. Roll Over Beethoven

Note: I have only uploaded this show as mp3 files. If there is enough interest, I could also post the lossless version, but given the recording quality it would only be worthwhile if there was sufficient demand for it.

P.S. Bonus photo. I know this must have been a hot day in Massachusetts, but check out Chris's short shorts and bare feet (Ah yes - 1971). As long as you're comfortable Chris, it's alright with me.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

After more than 30 years since his Look Sharp! debut, Joe Jackson is still going strong. Joe has greatly diversified his sound over the years, exploring various aspects of jazz, classical, film soundtracks, pop, and rock, and with many different band arrangements and configurations. In 2002, he got back together with his original 4-piece band (Graham Maby-bass, Gary Sanford-guitar, and Dave Houghton-drums), resulting in Volume 4 (2003, following after the 1st 3 albums made with this lineup, Look Sharp!, I'm The Man, and Beat Crazy, 1979-1980, before moving on) and a subsequent tour. Joe stayed with this arrangement for awhile, until in 2007, he dropped Gary Sanford and his guitar, and continued as a Trio. Joe's live shows have always been musical events, as he is constantly experimenting, re-arranging, and improvising through his selections of his own and others classic tracks. This trio show from 2010 demonstrates this very effectively, as Joe features new versions of old hits, and unique cover versions, with an overall jazzier sound and feel. If you like this, you should definitely check out Joe's brand new live album, Live Music (available for sale here), which uses selected tracks taken from the very same European tour as this show. So, here's to Joe Jackson, from 1979 to 2010 and beyond.

Tracklist:
1. It's Different For Girls - solo
2. Tomorrow's World
3. Too Tough
4. Fools In Love
5. The Uptown Train
6. Anyone Who Had a Heart (Bacharach)
7. Chinatown
8. Another World
9. Sunday Papers
10. Girl (Beatles) - solo
11. Be My Number Two - solo
12. Can We Still Be Friends (Rundgren)
13. Invisible Man
14. Inbetweenies (Ian Dury)
15. Take It Like A Man
16. Is She Really Going Out With Him?
17. Got the Time
Encore:
18. Music To Watch Girls By (Williams)
19. Steppin' Out
20. Home Town (solo)

Friday, June 10, 2011

In the wake of Graham Parker, many other 'new wave' and literate 'angry young rocker' type artists made their marks and presence known, most notably Elvis Costello, and a little later, in 1979, this guy, Joe Jackson. Previously I've featured some shows from around the middle years of his career (1983-Rockpalast, 1986-Tokyo), but not his early days. So, here is a rousing high-energy show with great sound quality from Joe's first American Tour in 1979, in support of his debut album, Look Sharp! He also previews a few songs from his 2nd album, I'm the Man ('Friday', 'Kinda Kute', 'I'm the Man'), which would be released later that year, as well as some interesting covers (The Maytal's 'Pressure Drop', Chuck Berry's 'Come On'). In this show it's easy to see how and why he made such a vivid impression on the late-70's music scene with his mixture of punk, rock, pop, and classic styles.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

OK, so after featuring a performance relatively early in Graham's career, here is a much more recent performance, almost 35 years later!. After his breakthrough and early years with the Rumour, Graham continued to perform live and release albums both solo and with various bands over the years. He has consistently released quality albums throughout his nearly four decade musical career, despite being generally ignored by the mainstream public, and bounced around from one record label to another. In recent years, Graham has been very busy, releasing several albums, and numerous 'official bootleg' live releases of past shows from various stages of his career, mainly through online outlets. He has also written books, and remains an insightful, witty, and acerbic observer of life as we know (or don't know) it. His most recent album, Imaginary Television, features the theme songs from non-existent television series (ones Graham made up), including descriptions and plot summaries of the imaginary series. Check out Graham's official site (www.grahamparker.net) for more info his recent releases and activities. Also, Graham has a blog that he occasionally drops by and writes for (but only about once a month or less) at http://chairmanparker.blogspot.com/.

This recent show features Graham in a casual, informal setting, conversing with the audience, and playing an extended set that sprinkles in some of his better known songs from throughout his career, but for the most part consists of newer or lesser known songs. On the one hand, it is great to get the chance to hear Graham talking and performing in such an informal, intimate setting, just him and his guitar (harmonica, kazoo, etc.), but on the other hand, it is a bit sad that this great rock legend and icon is reduced to playing the 'coffeehouse circuit' at this stage of his career, rather than playing to packed houses and adoring crowds (as some of his contemporaries still are). Although, Graham himself probably much prefers it this way. As one once remarked about Graham, "it 's not so much that Fame eluded him, it's more like he eluded Fame". Anyway, here he is, one of the greats, as he is in the present day. Enjoy.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

From one GP to another GP. From Gram Parsons to Graham Parker. While Gram was an American pioneer of country-rock music in the mid-late sixties, Graham emerged from the pub-rock scene to be a pioneer of British New Wave in the mid-late seventies, and went on to become one of the all-time great, yet sadly underappreciated, rock artists . We'll return back to more Gram Parsons, FBB, and other rarely heard or previously uncirculated country-rock recordings soon, but first I'll put up a few other things of interest that I've recently found. Here's a great show from early in Graham Parker's career, right around the release of Heat Treatment, Graham's 2nd album (both of which were released in 1976) with his legendary (yet always underrated) band, The Rumour. This is an excellent full-set FM broadcast recording with great sound. I only recently acquired this one (otherwise I would have posted it before). So, if you're a fan of Graham Parker, and particularly his early days with the Rumour, this is a must-have. For everyone else, it's certainly worth checking out. Great Stuff.

About This Blog

This site respects and supports artists and artist rights. Please support the artists by purchasing their officially released music through normal channels. The music files, information, and downloads linked here represent unreleased recordings that are not available through any official channels. This music is meant to supplement (and not replace) the currently available official releases for fans that want to explore deeper into an artists repertoire than is possible through official releases only (through demos, outtakes, alternate versions, and concert recordings). The music linked here is presented for sampling and evaluation purposes. By all means, if you enjoy the music from any artists represented here, please buy their official releases. All music files linked here are freely available elsewhere on the internet and no music files are stored at this site. I hope you find new music to enjoy here.

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